This is a record of my journey as a Muslim. I used to be Catholic and belonged to a missionary organisation. After my conversion, I sat on the board of a Muslim converts' organisation and specialised in da'wah programmes, convert management, interfaith issues and apostasy cases. I am an initiate of a Sufi order. As such, the articles and writings tend to cover these areas.
All the Arabic and graphics could not have been done without the help of my wife, Zafirah.

Sunday, 29 August 2010

The Praiseworthiness of Visiting the Prophet's (s.a.w.) Grave

بِسۡمِ ٱللهِ ٱلرَّحۡمَـٰنِ ٱلرَّحِيمِ

Imam al-Ghazali (r.a.) wrote in his Ihya’ ‘Ulum
ad-Din after mentioning the hadits,
“Do not travel except to three mosques,” “The gist of the matter is that some ‘ulama use it as evidence for
prohibiting travel to places of religious visitation and pilgrimage. It is clear that this is not the case. On the contrary, visitation to graves is
commanded by the hadits, ‘I have
forbidden you in the past to visit graves, but now I tell you to visit them.’ The hadits
only mentions the prohibition of frequent visitation to other than the three mosques
because of the likeness of one mosque to another. Furthermore, there is no city in which there
is no mosque. Hence, there is no need to
travel to another mosque. As for places
of religious visitation, the blessing of visiting them varies to the measure of
their rank with Allah.”

The following is an excerpt from the booklet by Shaykh
‘Isa ibn ‘Abdullah ibn Mani` al-Humayri, Director of the Da’irat al-Awqaf in Dubai, United Arab Emirates, entitled, al-I’ilam bi Istihbab Shadd ar-Rihal li Ziyarati
Qabr Khayr al-Anam ‘Alayhi asw-Swalat wa as-Salam, “The Notification Concerning
the Recommendation of Travelling to Visit the Grave of the Best of Creation
Blessings and Peace be upon Him.”

There are many ahadits to that effect which have reached the grade of tawatur, the highest authenticity. One of the common mutawatir narrations is, “I had forbidden you from visiting graves,
but now I tell you to visit them for they remind you of the Hereafter.” This is from in Imam Muslim (r.a.), Imam Ahmad ibn Hanbal (r.a.) and Imam ath-Thahawi (r.a.) from Buraydah ibn al-Hasib (r.a.).

Another narration according to Imam an-Nisa’i (r.a.), also from Buraydah (r.a.) is, “Whoever wants to visit the
graves, let him do so, and do not prohibit it.” This is a general narration which makes
visiting permitted whether a journey was intended for it or not. This hadits
is definitely not restricted to one person or one circumstance but is a general
order in nature. This general order is
evidence that the Prophet (s.a.w.) is
recommending movement by the word, “ziyarat”
which, in Arabic. implies travelling from one place to another by undertaking a
journey.

If people claim that Shaykh ibn Taymiyyah (r.a.), in his answer in Radd ‘ala al-Akhna’i, said, “The order
to visit graves does not entail travel,” we answer, the hadits is general, without any condition. If ziyarat
implies a journey, there is no way for us legally to prohibit that journey. Further, the higher reference in case of
difference of opinion, is the shari’ah,
and the Legislator (s.a.w.) called
the journeying, “ziyarat,” as in this hadits, “A man visited a close brother
of him in another village, so Allah Ordered an angel to meet him on the way and
ask him, ‘Where are you going?’

He answered, ‘I intend to visit a brother of
mine in the next village.’

He asked him, ‘Is there any business between him
and you?’

He replied, ‘None except the love of Allah.’

He said, ‘Know that I am a messenger from your
Lord to tell you that Allah Loves you both as you both love each other for His Sake.’”
This was narrated by Imam Muslim (r.a.) in his Swahih.

The Prophet (s.a.w.) here made ziyarat
entail both travel and non-travel. To
limit the ziyarat to something not
entailing travel is an abuse of the meaning of the word and a deviation from
the fundamentals of the shari’ah, and
Allah (s.w.t.) Knows best.

Imam al-`Iraqi (r.a.) said, “As for myself I am intending to visit the grave of
Ibrahim.”

Imam ibn Rajab (r.a.) asked, “Why your difference in intention?”

Imam al-‘Iraqi (r.a.) said, “You have contradicted the sunnah of the Prophet, who said, ‘Do not intend to journey except
to three mosques,’ and you have intended to visit a fourth. As for me, I am following his sunnah according to the hadits: ‘Visit the graves.’” This refers to all of the graves, not
excluding those of the prophets.

On travelling to visit the Prophet’s (s.a.w.) grave, Imam ibn ‘Abd al-Barr (r.a.) said, “It is allowed among people
to visit graves in general, and it is obligatory to travel to the grave of the
Prophet (s.a.w.).”

Shaykh Abu al-Hasanat al-Lucknawi (r.a.) wrote, in his Ibraz al-Ghayy fi Shifa' al-`Ayy, “The Exposure of Deviation for
the Healing of the Sick,” “Until ibn Taymiyyah, not a single scholar ever
questioned even in the slightest the permissibility of visiting the Prophet’s
grave. Rather, all scholars unanimously
supported the ruling that it was one of the best acts of worship and highest
acts of obedience. The only difference
was whether it was wajib or near the wajib or merely recommended. The first who broke the unanimity is ibn
Taymiyyah.” The Malikis consider it wajib; the Hanafis consider it a sunnah al-mu’akkadah, and the Shafi’i’s
and Hanbalis consider it mustahabb.

Ijma’ in shadd ar-rihal, travelling, to visit the
noble grave is of the highest grades of ijma’
among the ‘ulama. Level after level of both the ‘ulama and the commonality, century
after century, across the disciplines, all agree on this. This is for both the grave and the masjid. To make a difference between the grave and the
masjid of the Prophet (s.a.w.) is decisively null and void.

The hadits,
“Mounts are not to be saddled except to go to three (mosques),” does not
indicate that it is forbidden to visit the noble grave. Shaykh ibn Taymiyyah's (r.a.) inference that this kind of trip is a disobedience and swalah must not be shortened during it, is
patently incorrect. Imam ibn Hajr (r.a.) wrote in al-Fath, “This is one of the ugliest matters reported from ibn
Taymiyyah.”

Imam al-‘Iraqi (r.a.) wrote, in al-Ajwiba
al-Makkiyyah and Tharh al-Tatsrib,
“There are several answers to this. Either he means absolutely no travel except to
these three places. And this is
completely false. The nature of an
exception must be the same as that of the things forbidden. If the exception concerns the masajid, the prohibition must concern
the masajid. This rule is followed by Imam Ahmad as quoted
in Sharh al-Kawkab al-Munir by ibn an-Najjar
al-Hanbali, al-Kharqi in the Mukhtaswar,
ibn Badran, al-Ghazali in al-Mankhul,
and Abu Ishaq al-Shirazi in al-Luma`. Therefore, the proper significance must be, ‘Do
not travel to any masjid other than
these three masajid.’ This is confirmed by the hadits related by Sharh ibn
Hawshab formulating the legal ruling retained by the ‘ulama: ‘The traveller must not saddle the mounts in order to go to
pray a certain prayer in a mosque except in the Holy Mosque, or the Farthest
Mosque, or my Mosque.’

as-Subki in Shifa' asw-Swiqam said, ‘There are two
reasons for travelling: a certain cause, or the place of destination itself. There is no question about the first one. As for the limitation on the latter in the hadits, although it has to do with the
Prophet’s mosque, the limitation does not rule concerning the grave of the
Prophet. Therefore, even if the mosque
of Madina were not mentioned in that hadits,
we would still not be concerned by the order in relation to visiting the
Prophet's grave.’”

The true meaning of the hadits can be seen in the light of other authentic ahadits praising the travel to the
mosque in Quba’: “If they knew what was in Quba’, they would have travelled
there at the highest speed,” which is swahih.

And, “If the masjid of Quba’ was at the top of
the skies, we would have ridden our camels to death in order to attain it,” through
‘Umar ibn al-Kaththab (r.a.), and is hasan.

Also, Abu Hurayrah (r.a.) used to travel to visit Quba’ masjid. If he understood the
hadits, la tushadd ar-rihal as a categorical tahrim, he would not have gone.

In conclusion, Shaykh al-Khaththabi (r.a.) said, “The position of an-Nawawi
and ibn Qudamah and ibn Battal is that there is no prohibition of an act of
travel in the hadits; rather it is an
emphasis on the importance of travelling to these three masajid in particular, and the emphasis becomes an obligation in
case of nadzr which is not the case
for a vow to pray in any masjid other
than these three.”